Ingress Protection rating (or just IP rating), is an international standard (IEC 60529) used to rate the degree of protection or sealing effectiveness in electrical enclosures against intrusion of objects, water, dust or accidental contact. It corresponds to the European standard EN 60529.
The IP code always consists of the letters IP (Ingress Protection) followed by two digits and an optional letter. The two digits and the last letter indicate the classified protection below.
First digit: Solids protection
The first digit following the IP indicates the level of protection of enclosed equipment against ingress of solid foreign objects, and against people accessing hazardous parts such as electric conductors.
Level
Object size protected against
Effective against
X
-
X means no data available to specify a protection rating
O
Not protected
No protection against contact and ingress of objects
1
>50 mm in diameter
Any large surface of the body
No protection against deliberate contact
2
>12.5 mm in diameter
Fingers or similar objects
3
>2.5 mm in diameter
Tools, thick wires, etc.
4
>1 mm in diameter
Most wires, screws, etc.
5
Dust-protected
Ingress of dust sufficient to cause damage inside the equipment operation
Complete protection against contact
6
Dust tight
No ingress of dust
Complete protection against contact
Second digit: Liquids protection
The second digit following IP in the code rating shows the level of equipment protection inside the enclosure against water ingress.
Level
Object size protected against
Effective against
X
-
X means there is no data available to specify a protection rating
O
Not protected
No protection against water ingress
1
Dripping water
Vertically falling water drops
2
Dripping water when tilted < 15º
Vertically falling water drops when enclosure is tilted < 15º
3
Spraying water
Water sprayed at an angle < 60º from the vertical position
4
Splashing water
Water splashing against the enclosure from any direction
5
Water jets
Water projected by a nozzle (6.3 mm) against the enclosure from any direction
6
Powerful water jets
Water projected in powerful jets (12.5 mm nozzle) against the enclosure from any direction
7
Immersion up to 1 m
Ingress of water when temporarily immersed (up to 1 m of submersion)
8
Immersion beyond 1 m
Ingress of water when continuously immersed (beyond 1 m of submersion)
9K*
Powerful high temperature water jets
Close-range, high pressure and high temperature spray downs
*Identified as IPX9 in standard IEC 60529. All tests with the letter ‘K’ are defined by standard ISO 20653
LINAK® actuators with IP66 and IP69K
Industrial actuators are typically used in environments where they are exposed to both liquids and solid objects. That is why all our actuators with aluminium housings are tested to meet ratings IP66 and IP69K, making them extremely versatile in various applications.
Actuators with an IP66 rating are totally protected from dust ingress and powerful water jets from any direction. This makes these actuators suitable for outdoor use with changing weather conditions.
In case the application requires wash-downs with high-pressure water jets and high temperatures, IP69K is the recommended protection class. This is a common demand in, for example, agricultural machinery, where the actuator is not necessarily shielded or protected. Here the actuator is exposed to dirt, fertilisers and frequent high-pressure washing, typically at the end of a day in the fields.
IP66
- Protected from total dust ingress
- Protected from high-pressure water jets from any direction
IP69K
- Protected from total dust ingress
- Protected from steam-jet cleaning
This is how we test and determine Ingress Protection at LINAK
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